Parking Citation Appeals Process

Appeal a Citation

Go to the My Parking Account.
Appeals will not be accepted by mail or email. Any appeals submitted in person will be assessed a $15 fee. If you appeal your citation you are not eligible for the early payment discount.

All appeals must be submitted with the appellant’s name, active address, ID (G-number), and telephone number. Appeals submitted without this information will not be processed.

Requests for an appeal should be done online within seven (7) calendar days of the issue date of the citation. Failure to file an appeal in seven calendar days of the issue date of the citation will result in the addition of a late fee ($15.00) to the fine in accordance with Motor Vehicle Parking Policies and Regulations. No appeals will be considered more than thirty calendar days from the issue of the citation.

The Parking Appeals hearing officer will carefully review each appeal. The Parking Appeals hearing officer will base his/her decision on the Motor Vehicle Parking Policies and Regulations and on the information presented to them. Fines associated with appealed citations need not be paid until the appellant is advised of the decision. The appeals officer may approve the appeal (dismiss the citation), deny the appeal (uphold the citation), or downgrade the violation to an appropriate lesser violation. The appellant can appeal the decision of the hearing officer in certain cases. See below for Appeals Board information. Any fines due after the appeal has been heard must be paid within ten (10) days of notice of the decision. Failure to pay will result in the accumulation of late fees and the individual’s outstanding account being turned over to a collection agency. Students who fail to pay within thirty (30) days will also be placed on academic hold.

The hearing officer will make any decision on the appeal based on the guidelines below:

The citation and fine is presumed valid. It is the obligation of the appellant to present information that would invalidate the ticket.

Reasons that might warrant invalidation of the ticket are: evidence of illness that necessitated the violation, mechanical breakdowns that were handled in a reasonably expeditious manner, documented erroneous information given by a Parking Services employee, or other circumstances that are unusual enough to warrant special consideration.

Reason to warrant a downgrade of the ticket are: when further information that was not readily available to the citing officer is provided to the reviewer as a justification for the downgrade, valid misunderstandings regarding ambiguous parking areas in the judgment of the reviewer, etc.

A specific reason for denial need not be given. A general statement can be made that a sufficient reason for reversal was not made.

Courtesy Dismissals

Valid permit owners can be granted one courtesy dismissal per semester for "no permit" citations for situations where they forget their permit or it is not visible to be eligible for a courtesy dismissal, one must appeal their citation within 7 calendar days.

Certain determinations may be appealed to an appropriate Appeals Board (Student or Faculty). Notification of a determination will provide information stating if an additional appeal process is available as an option. A request for reconsideration of denied appeals to an Appeals Board must be made within five (5) calendar days from the time a decision was made by the hearing officer. For an appeal to be reconsidered by Student Appeals Board or the Faculty/Staff Appeals Board, the appellant must schedule a hearing and be present at that hearing. The appellant will have the opportunity to present their case directly to the board members. The decision of the board members is final.

Appellants requesting a second level or final appeals hearing before the Faculty/Staff or Student Appeals Board will occur an administrative fee of $15.00 if one's citation appeal is not dismissed in its entirety by the appeals board.

Parking Appeals Boards

An administrative fee of $15.00 will be charged if one's citation appeal is not dismissed in its entirety by the appeals board.

STUDENT PARKING APPEALS BOARD

The Student Parking Appeals Board is made up of members from the Student Government. The Student Government takes direction from the Director of Parking & Transportation. They follow the rules and regulations set forth in Motor Vehicle Parking Policy and Procedures, and base their decision on the facts presented to them.

FACULTY/STAFF AND VISITOR PARKING APPEALS BOARD

The Faculty/Staff and Visitor Parking Appeals Board has been appointed to hear parking citation appeals and advise the Director of Parking & Transportation on parking-related matters. The board consists of three Faculty members and three Staff members, appointed by the Director of Parking & Transportation. They follow the rules and regulations set forth in Motor Vehicle Parking Policy and Procedures, and base their decision on the facts presented to them.

Appointments for the board are for two-year renewable terms and run from September 1 through August 31. The chairman is selected for a three-year renewable term by Board members and must have served at least one year on the board.

The procedures provided herein apply to all George Mason University faculty, staff, student, University contractors, visitors, and others who use University owned and leased parking facilities.

This procedure is designed to assist the University administration in evaluating the parking program, to highlight problem areas, to provide a learning experience to those who receive citations while using George Mason University parking facilities, to provide an avenue to correct enforcement errors, and to provide a means of redress.

The Director of Parking & Transportation has the responsibility of monitoring the policy and recommending new and/or revised policies and procedures.